Ellison C. Travis

Ellison C. Travis has been appointed as the new Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, in line with the stepping down of U.S. Attorney Brandon J. Fremin. The Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana undergoes adjustments as part of the Biden Administration’s transition period. Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson extended the request of President-elect Joe Biden via an announcement last February 9, 2021, asking the remaining Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to vacate their posts in order to smoothen out the process of appointment for new U.S. Attorneys across the nation. The appointment of Ellison Travis will take effect on March 1, 2021.

Table of Contents

Appointment
Educational Background
Legal Background
Statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Travis
Office Jurisdiction
Contact Details
Baton Rouge Office
Social Media Profiles of Ellison Travis
Twitter Field

Appointment

A new Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana has been sworn in. Ellison C. Travis has been appointed as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, subsequent to the departure of U.S. Attorney Brandon J. Fremin, who has been requested to vacate his post by February 28, 2021. Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson made the announcement on behalf of the Biden Administration on February 9, 2021, calling out to the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to step down in order to accommodate the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The adjustments made in Office are considered routine with the change in administration. Ellison Travis is expected to assume the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana on March 1, 2021, and shall continue to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for a maximum of 300 days, or up until the Biden, Administration has officially appointed a new U.S. Attorney for the district.

Educational Background

U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis earned his degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Louisiana State University and has subsequently received his Doctor of Law from the Louisiana State University – Paul M. Herbert Law Center in 1998.

Legal Background

With more than three decades in the legal field, U.S. Attorney Travis brings depth and breadth of experience as first-in-command in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana. He has dedicated most of his career to public service and has been committed to serving the State of Louisiana from the very beginning. Acting U.S. Attorney Travis launched his legal career by joining the 4^th Judicial District Court of the State of Louisiana as an Assistant District Attorney. He worked in the 4^th JDC for about 11 months, from February of 1990 to December of 1990. He then shifted to working as an Assistant District Attorney in the 21^st Judicial District Court of the State of Louisiana, where he served for approximately six years, from January of 1991 to December of 1996.

In February of 1997, Acting U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis came to the Louisiana Department of Justice and began serving as an Assistant Attorney General. He served in the position for almost six years, until June of 2002, and was made responsible for heading the Criminal Division of the federal government. In this capacity, U.S. Attorney Travis was responsible for enforcing the law and administering justice at the executive level. On top of that, he supervised and managed tiered legal departments and aided the Attorney General in his duties. The succeeding 15 years of U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis’s legal career was dedicated to being the Assistant Attorney General for the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. He remained in the position from July 2002 to January 2017. After which, Acting U.S. Attorney Travis was appointed into being the Section Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control. For almost 22 years, U.S. Attorney Travis has consistently provided valuable and exceptional service to the Louisiana Department of Justice. He was Section Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for a year and a half, from February 2017 to July 2018. Within his more than two decades of service in the Louisiana Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Travis has accomplished numerous things. He has significantly contributed to a number of legislations, including providing crucial assistance and helping in the writing and passing of the legislation, which aimed to penalize those who commit electronic abuse of individuals with infirmities and the legislation that penalizes those individuals who commit public program fraud. In addition, Acting U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis has also represented the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the state Legislative Task Force on Medicaid Fraud Prevention.

Coming into the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana for the first time in July of 2018, Acting U.S. Attorney Travis was initially appointed as First Assistant United States Attorney to former U.S. Attorney Brandon J. Fremin. Being second-in-command in the Office meant he was responsible for overseeing the overall operations of the Office. Throughout his over thirty years of dedicated service to the public, U.S. Attorney Travis has prosecuted all manner of criminal matters, including firearms, financial crimes, public corruption, and violent crimes.

Statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Travis

Upon being appointed as interim Top Federal Prosecutor for the Middle District of Louisiana, Ellison Travis released a statement asserting that he will continue to uphold the mission and vision of the Office, as well as carry on the legacy in which the Office seeks justice. Moreover, he claimed that the Office would continue to aggressively enforce federal law and keep a strong collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies under his tenure.

“It is a great honor to serve in this position, as this office has a long history of seeking justice. I can assure the public that our professional staff will continue our mission and aggressively enforce federal law by working with federal, state, and local partners to prosecute criminals and pursue federal civil enforcement actions when appropriate,” said U.S. Attorney Travis.

Office Jurisdiction

Ellison C. Travis is serving as the interim United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. As Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official, Ellison Travis is responsible for keeping the nine parishes that comprise the Middle District of Louisiana safe. Additionally, he is to supervise and lead a staff of approximately 60 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and support personnel who are all responsible for prosecuting federal crimes, including cases involving hate crimes against the country’s vulnerable population, human trafficking and exploitation, foreign and domestic threats to national security, terrorism, public corruption, and violent crime. Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Ellison C. Travis, is committed to carrying out the mission of the United States Department of Justice and shall manage all of the criminal prosecutions and civil litigations within the district in which the United States is a party.